A message from my inbox.

One of CUFI’s great strengths is that we are a real and vibrant grassroots organization. That’s pretty rare these days. So many of the groups which claim to speak for large constituencies often represent no one but a few professional lobbyists in Washington. But CUFI represents millions of supporters who live in every Congressional district across the country. When our elected officials leave Washington and go back home to their states and districts, they find hundreds of active CUFI members waiting to speak with them.

During Congress’ August recess, CUFI held a series of local events with key lawmakers across the country that demonstrated this grassroots strength.

One highlight was our Israel Town Hall in Idaho, where we hosted both of Idaho’s US Senators. It’s rare that both of a state’s senators show up to the same event back home, but they showed up together for CUFI.

Also noteworthy were the two events we hosted with Texas Congressmen, one in the Houston area and the other in Amarillo. What made these events special was the fact that they were arranged at the request of the Congressmen, who value CUFI as an important voice for their constituents.

When Congress got back to work in September, they heard from us again. CUFI members sent over 42,000 e-mails to Congress asking our lawmakers to co-sponsor a bill to make it harder for Hezbollah to raise the funds that fuel its terror. Shortly after our alert, the Senate passed this bill.

And in early September, we held a very important event in Charlottesville, Virginia called My Brother’s Keeper. As you all know, Charlottesville was the sight of an ugly neo-Nazi demonstration that threatened the local Jewish community. As you also know, anti-Semitism is on the rise across the country — both on the far right as well as the far left. So we decided to bring Jews and Christians in Charlottesville together to take a firm stand against this rising tide of hate. Our statement was loud and clear — Christians will stand side-by-side with our Jewish brethren to combat anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head.